BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2010 Hearing Date: 6/8/16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Ridley-Thomas |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |5/25/16 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Darren Chesin |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Voter's pamphlet: electronic candidate statement
DIGEST
Permits local agencies to allow candidates for local,
nonpartisan elective office to submit candidate statements that
are electronically distributed, but are not included in the
voter's pamphlets that accompany the sample ballots.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1)Permits each candidate for local nonpartisan elective office
to submit a candidate's statement to appear in a voter's
pamphlet subject to the following procedures and restrictions:
a) Permits the statement to include the name, age, and
occupation of the candidate and a brief description, of no
more than 200 words, of the candidate's education and
qualifications expressed by the candidate himself or
herself. Permits the governing body of the local agency to
authorize an increase in the limitations on the words for
the statement from 200 to 400 words.
b) Prohibits the statement from including the party
affiliation of the candidate, or membership or activity in
any partisan political organizations.
AB 2010 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 2
of ?
c) Permits a statement to be withdrawn, but not changed,
during the period for filing nomination papers and until 5
p.m. of the next working day after the close of the
nomination period.
d) Allows, but does not require, a local agency to require
each candidate filing a statement to pay for the pro rata
share of the total costs of printing, handling,
translating, and mailing all the candidate's statements.
Requires the local agency to decide whether to charge
candidates for the costs of candidate's statements before
the nominating period opens for the election.
1)Requires the elections official to send each voter a sample
ballot and a voter's pamphlet which contains the written
statements of each candidate.
2)Requires each voter's pamphlet that contains candidate
statements, as detailed above, to include the following
statement or statements:
a) If any candidate is not listed in the pamphlet, that the
pamphlet does not contain a complete list of candidates and
that a complete list of candidates appears on the sample
ballot; and,
b) That each candidate's statement in the pamphlet is
volunteered by the candidate and (if printed at the
candidate's expense) is printed at his or her expense.
1)Permits county and city elections officials to establish
processes designed to permit a voter to opt out of receiving
his or her sample ballot, voter's pamphlet, notice of polling
place, and associated materials by mail, and instead obtain
them electronically via email or accessing them on the
county's or city's Internet Web site, provided that certain
conditions are met.
2)Allows a candidate for statewide elective office who accepts
the voluntary expenditure limits set forth by state law to
purchase the space to place a statement that does not exceed
250 words in the state ballot pamphlet. Prohibits any such
statement from making reference to any opponent of the
candidate. Requires any such statement to be submitted in
accordance with timeframes and procedures set forth by the
AB 2010 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 3
of ?
Secretary of State for the preparation of the state ballot
pamphlet. Defines "statewide office" for these purposes to
include the office of member of the Board of Equalization.
3)Allows a candidate for State Senate or Assembly who accepts
the voluntary expenditure limits set forth by state law to
purchase the space to place a statement that does not exceed
250 words in the voter information portion of the sample
ballot. Prohibits any such statement from making reference to
any opponent of the candidate. Requires any such statement to
be submitted in accordance with timeframes and procedures set
forth in the Elections Code for the preparation of the voter
information portion of the sample ballot.
4)Permits a candidate for United States Senator to purchase the
space to place a candidate's statement in the state ballot
pamphlet that does not exceed 250 words, as specified.
Permits a candidate for United States Representative to
purchase the space to place a statement in the voter
information portion of the sample ballot that does not exceed
250 words, as specified.
This bill:
1) Permits the governing body of a local agency to permit
each candidate for nonpartisan elective office in the local
agency to prepare a candidate's statement for the purpose
of electronic distribution if the elections official who is
conducting the election permits electronic distribution of
a candidate's statement. Provides that a statement
prepared for electronic distribution shall be posted on the
Internet Web site of the elections official, and may be
included in a voter's pamphlet that is electronically
distributed by the elections official, as specified.
Provides that a candidate's statement prepared for the
purpose of electronic distribution shall not be included in
a voter's pamphlet that is printed and mailed to voters, as
specified.
2) Requires any candidate's statement submitted by a
candidate for nonpartisan elective office in a local agency
to be printed in the voter's pamphlets that accompany the
sample ballots to be included with any statement that is
AB 2010 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 4
of ?
prepared and electronically distributed pursuant to this
bill.
3) Requires statements that are electronically distributed
pursuant to this bill to be displayed in a type of uniform
size and darkness, and with uniform spacing.
4) Requires the elections official to provide a Spanish
translation of a candidate statement that is prepared for
electronic distribution to any candidate who wishes to have
a translation, and requires the elections official to
select a person to provide that translation as specified.
5) Permits a local agency to require each candidate for
nonpartisan elective office who submits a candidate's
statement for the purpose of electronic distribution to pay
in advance to the local agency that candidate's estimated
pro rata share of having the statement electronically
distributed. Provides that the local agency is not bound
by the estimate and may bill candidates for the additional
actual expense or refund any excess paid depending on the
final actual cost.
6) Requires each voter's pamphlet that contains candidate
statements from candidates for nonpartisan elective office
of a local agency, if the agency has authorized candidates
to prepare a statement for the purpose of electronic
distribution, to include a statement that additional
statements are available on the Internet Web site of the
elections official, and requires the statement to include
the address of the Web site at which the statements may be
viewed.
7) Makes corresponding and technical changes.
BACKGROUND
Candidate Statements and Costs to Candidates : As noted above,
every candidate for nonpartisan, local elective office has the
ability to prepare a candidate's statement to be included in a
AB 2010 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 5
of ?
voter's pamphlet that is sent to voters with the sample ballot.
Because sample ballots are sent to all voters except those who
register to vote shortly before the election, these statements
allow candidates to provide a large segment of the electorate
with information about their qualifications.
In order to defray the costs of producing the voter's pamphlet,
existing law allows local agencies to charge candidates for the
costs of printing, handling, translating, and mailing candidate
statements to voters. There is no uniform method that is used
to calculate the cost to candidates for having their statements
included in the voter's pamphlet; the cost of placing a
candidate statement in the voter's pamphlet, however, generally
is related to the number of voters who are eligible to vote for
the office that a candidate is seeking. While the cost of a
candidate's statement might be less than $100 for a school board
candidate in a small school district, the estimated cost for a
candidate for Superior Court Judge in Orange County to provide a
400 word statement is nearly $29,000. In Los Angeles County,
the cost for a candidate for countywide office to place a
candidate statement in the voter's pamphlet exceeds $70,000, and
could cost four times that amount if the candidate chose to have
the statement printed in Spanish as well as English, and if the
statement was long enough that it extended onto a second page in
the voter's pamphlet.
While local agencies are allowed to charge candidates for
including statements in the voter's pamphlet, they are not
required to do so. For at least the last decade, San Francisco
has allowed candidates for nonpartisan, local elective office to
place a candidate statement in the voter's pamphlet free of
charge. Over that time period, 366 of the 369 candidates for
nonpartisan, local elective office who have appeared on the
ballot in San Francisco have chosen to provide a candidate
statement to be included in the voter's pamphlet.
Local Office Only : The provisions of this bill authorizing
local jurisdictions to allow candidates to submit candidate
statements solely for the purposes of electronic distribution
are applicable only to candidates for nonpartisan, local
elective office. Statements by candidates for State Assembly,
State Senate, and United States House of Representatives, also
appear in the voter's pamphlet that is distributed with the
sample ballot, but this bill would not explicitly permit local
AB 2010 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 6
of ?
jurisdictions to authorize candidates for those offices to
submit candidate statements solely for the purposes of
electronic distribution. Statements submitted by candidates for
those offices, however, are subject to different restrictions
and procedures than statements submitted by candidates for
nonpartisan, local elective office. Candidates for state
Legislature, for instance, must agree to abide by voluntary
expenditure limits in order to be eligible to place a candidate
statement in the voter information portion of the sample ballot.
Furthermore, while local jurisdictions have the authority to
decide whether to charge candidates for nonpartisan, local
elective office for including candidate statements in the
voter's pamphlet, state law generally requires candidates for
the Legislature and Congress to "purchase the space" to place a
statement in the voter information portion of the sample ballot.
COMMENTS
According to the author : The cost of candidate statements has a
direct impact on the amount of information that voters have
about candidates who are running for local office. In the
November 2014 election, San Francisco did not charge candidates
for local nonpartisan office for placing a candidate statement
in the voter's pamphlet. Of the 43 candidates running for
local, nonpartisan office, 42 submitted a candidate statement to
be included in the voter's pamphlet. By contrast, in
jurisdictions where candidates must pay to have their statements
included in the voter's pamphlet, it is not uncommon for less
than 10 percent of candidates to have a statement appear in the
voter's pamphlet.
As people increasingly choose to access information about
elections electronically, and as elections officials move to
improve efficiency by providing more information to voters in an
electronic format, it makes sense to provide a lower cost option
for candidates to communicate with voters about their
qualifications.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 2010 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 7
of ?
AB 2911 (Elections and Redistricting Committee), which is also
being heard in this committee today, standardizes terms in the
Elections Code that are used to refer to the county and state
voter information guides.
PRIOR ACTION
------------------------------------------------------------------
|Assembly Floor: |79 - 0 |
|--------------------------------------+---------------------------|
|Assembly Elections and Redistricting | 7 - 0 |
|Committee: | |
------------------------------------------------------------------
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: California Voter Foundation
Cathy Darling Allen, Shasta County Clerk/Registrar of
Voters
Dean Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/
County Clerk
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Oppose: None received
-- END --